Russian Armed Forces

Management

Ministry of Defence

• Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

Military districts

Finland's accession to NATO led to an increase in Russia's border with the bloc. A military contingent and NATO weapons capable of hitting critical objects of our defense in the north-west of the country can be deployed on Finnish territory. In connection with the security threats from NATO in August 2023, it was decided to create the Leningrad and Moscow military districts to protect the western borders of Russia.

Structure

Aerospace Forces

Main article: Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation

• Russian Air Force

Russian Air Defense

Main article: Russian air defense

Ground forces

Number of subdivisions

Ground Forces for 2023, this

• department (from 5 to 10 people),
• platoon (10 to 60),
• company (from 60 to 300),
• battalion (300 to 950),
• regiment (950 to 2,000),
• brigade (2,000 to 4,000), * division (4,000 to 20,000),
• housing (20,000 to 40,000),
• army (over 40,000 men);

Scavenging

Intelligence has always been and remains one of the main tools for conducting modern wars and hostilities. In peacetime, scouts perform tasks to collect and systematize information that allow you to accurately and timely respond to challenges in the political field.

During the military, these are those people on whose work not just lives depend, but the outcome of conflicts.

The main activities of intelligence units:

• Ambush actions - special reconnaissance units have always specialized in ambushing and causing problems to enemy troops.

• Assault on important objects - by "assault" they mean the usual actions of infantry units. The task of special forces is to storm and take control of critical enemy objects and headquarters.

• Capture and interrogation - often it is on the shoulders of intelligence units that the task of capturing commanders and recruiting especially valuable persons is entrusted both in war zones and simply in regions of interest.

• Observation and adjustment - advanced intelligence units act either as gunners, then spotters, or organizers of a fire defeat: competent work as part of a reconnaissance and strike circuit has become their "hallmark."

• Landing and penetration into the rear - special reconnaissance units are trained to land both from extremely low altitudes and several thousand meters: on the "wings" they can penetrate far beyond the line of combat contact and disable targets of interest.

• The destruction of critical infrastructure - mining, demolition, disruption of bridges, transport interchanges, power plants, factories, as well as other industrial facilities - is what Russian reconnaissance groups are trained on.

• Unmanned dominance - it was the calculations of special intelligence units that were the first to use combat and strike drones even before it became mainstream. Catapults, copters, UAVs on fiber, a fixed wing, the latest simulators for training - all this appears first in reconnaissance, and then gets to infantry units.

• Technical exploration - one of the most important areas of activity is the extraction of technical documentation and samples of military and special equipment of the enemy. Everything is used - up to banal bribery and payment for the work of "trophy teams."

• Cyber ​ ​ operations - the fame of Russian hackers thunders around the world, and their effectiveness is widely known. Hackers and specialists in cyber operations are in every law enforcement agency, and the Main Directorate of the General Staff is no exception.

• Intelligence intelligence - with the start of the Syrian campaign, it became obvious that intelligence work, its forms and species should evolve and meet current challenges. Russian intelligence officers recruit dozens of people, ensuring they receive valuable intelligence and conduct special events.

• Work "in the field" - for no one has long been a secret the fact that experienced intelligence officers coordinate the activities of individual formations in conflict zones, act as instructors and commanders, providing war with other people's hands.

• Electronic reconnaissance - parts and objects of the EER are a priority goal for the enemy's grouping: the EERs intercept and decrypt conversations, extract documents, track satellites and detect the exits of the enemy's aviation, UAVs and BECs in time.

Navy

Main article: Navy of the Russian Federation (Navy of the Russian Federation)

Railway troops

Russian railway troops have been counting their history since August 6, 1851, when the first military formations were created by decree of Emperor Nicholas I to protect and maintain the track under construction between St. Petersburg and Moscow.

RCBZ troops

Main article: RCBZ (Troops of Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection of Russia)

Number of armed forces

Main article: The size of the armed forces of Russia

Financing

2023: Defence spending - 5.9% of GDP

2022: Russia's defense spending rose by a third to 4.679 trillion rubles

The Russian authorities pledged 4.679 trillion rubles for the country's defense, which is 1.2 trillion rubles more than previously approved. This became known in September 2022 from the "Main directions of budgetary, tax and customs-tariff policy for 2023-2025." Read more here.

2021: Defence spending - 4.08% of GDP

2020: Defense spending up 6.6% to RUB 1.89 trillion

According to the federal budget for 2020-2022, the expenses of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in 2020 were supposed to grow by 6.6%. The document states that the expenditure part of the budget allocated for 2020 by the Ministry of Defense is 1.894 trillion rubles. In 2019, Defense Department spending amounted to 1.776 trillion. Read more here.

2019: Russia enters top 5 countries with highest military spending

Russia entered the top 5 countries with the highest military spending at the end of 2019. This was reported in the report of the Stockholm Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which was released at the end of April 2020.

In 2019, Russia spent about $65.1 billion on military needs, which is 4.5% more than a year earlier. Costs correspond to 3.9% of GDP. Read more here.

2018: Military budget 3.9% of GDP

Military budget in% of GDP, 2018:

• 8.8% Saudi Arabia
• 4.3% Israel
• 3.9% Russia
• 3.2% USA
• 2.5% Turkey
• 2.4% India
• 2.3% France
• 1.9% Australia
• 1.9% China
• 1.8% Britain
• 1.3% Canada
• 1.2% Germany

(SIPRI)

Defense-industrial complex

Main article: Defense-industrial complex of Russia

Military communications

Main article: Military communications

Technological development

Digitalization of the Russian army

Main article: Digitalization of the Russian army

Military drones

Main article: Military drones in Russia

Using Virtual Reality Technologies

Main article: Virtual reality in the armed forces of Russia

2024: Mass production of camouflage "invisible suits" for the military launched in Russia

In Russia, they launched mass production of innovative camouflage "invisible suits" for the military, capable of blurring silhouettes in the infrared range. This became known on July 25, 2024. About 600 units of this high-tech equipment, necessary to ensure the safety of military personnel in the area of ​ ​ a special military operation, are coming off the assembly line every month. Read more here

2023

For the Russian army created a bilateral disguise

On March 6, 2023, it became known that the scientific and production special company Sturm - Equipment and Equipment is developing a two-way camouflage kit for the Russian army, one of the sides of which is intended for the Far North and the other for the Middle Strip. Read more here.

Russia begins to use mortars with smart sights in the DPR

Russia begins to be used Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) in mortars with smart sights. About this interview "" RIA Novosti(published on January 24, 2023) told the former general director "" and Roskosmos the head of the scientific and technical center "Tsarskie Volki." Dmitry Rogozin

According to him, back in 2022, 120-mm mortars with smart sights passed tests in the zone of a special military operation, after which they were finalized. The technology allows you to open fire on the enemy faster.

These mortars in the required quantity for trial operation will be at our disposal during February [2022 - approx. TAdviser]. We, accordingly, will test them in battle, - said Rogozin.

He noted that work on improving weapons was underway with some battalions of territorial defense of the DPR, which brought 120-mm mortars to the Kalmius training ground, located near Donetsk. Civilian specialists from the Urals also arrived there, who brought a tablet, the so-called smart sight. After searching for mistakes, the specialists left back to their enterprise and finalized this innovative sight and now it will be brought to Donbass again.

That is, this is such a very complex operational process for the transfer of knowledge, technologies, taking into account the comments that we receive, "Rogozin emphasized.

According to Men Today, the "smart" sight was tested on a 120-mm mortar. The new artillery terminal has the following advantages:

• the mortar fires more accurate shots;
• the gunner takes up a firing position much faster;
• the sight cannot go astray (it corrects itself);
• the position does not require a bussole (a special device that combines the functions of a compass and binoculars, which is needed to control the mortar fire).^[1]

The Russian military has software that allows you to detect the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine using smartphones

The Russian military came up with a new method for determining the positions of Ukrainian artillery in the zone of a special military operation, detecting the sound of its shots using several smartphones. This became known in January 2023. Read more here.

2018: Restoring arms parity with the US

Nuclear arsenal

Missile Attack Warning System

2024: Nuclear Doctrine Update

Putin's main statements at the meeting of the permanent meeting of the Security Council on nuclear deterrence on September 25, 2024:

• Aggression against the Russian Federation of a non-nuclear state together with a nuclear one will be considered as an attack on Russia.

• Russia reserves the right to use nuclear weapons in the event of aggression against Belarus.

• The draft updated Nuclear Doctrine of the Russian Federation has expanded the category of states and military alliances in respect of which nuclear deterrence is carried out.

• Reliable information about the launch of means of aerospace attack towards the Russian Federation will entail a nuclear response.

• A critical threat to the sovereignty of the Russian Federation and conventional weapons will be the basis for a nuclear response.

On November 19, 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree approving the updated nuclear doctrine - the Fundamentals of State Policy in the Field of Nuclear Deterrence.

Important:

• Aggression against the Russian Federation and its allies by a non-nuclear country with the support of a nuclear state will be considered as a joint attack;

• The readiness and determination of the Russian Federation to use nuclear weapons will ensure nuclear deterrence;

• The Russian Federation can use nuclear weapons with a critical threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of itself and Belarus;

• The updated nuclear doctrine defines the adversary for whom nuclear deterrence is conducted;

• Among the conditions for the use of nuclear weapons is the launch of ballistic missiles against the Russian Federation;

• Providing territory and resources for aggression against the Russian Federation is the basis for nuclear deterrence of such a state.

2023

The leader in stocks of raw materials for nuclear weapons

2022

2021

1949: The First Atomic Bomb

1947: Under the General Staff, a Special Department was created for the first nuclear tests

September 4, 1947, when a Special Department was created at the General Staff to conduct the first nuclear tests in the history of the country. Subsequently, it was transformed into 12 Main Directorate of the Ministry of Defense (GUMO).

For 2023, its structure includes central arsenals for storing ammunition, repair and technical bases, laboratories of the Special Control Service. It is 12 GUMO that is responsible for the implementation of the military nuclear-technical policy of the state and the nuclear support of the Russian armed forces.

Military equipment

Tanks

Field hospitals

Main article: Field hospitals

Divisions

• 144 Guards Motorized Rifle Yelninsky Red Banner Order of the Suvorov Division
• 3rd motorized rifle Vistula Red Banner Order of Suvorov and Kutuzov Division

History

2023

Receiving 250 aircraft and helicopters, 57 ships and 20 million ammunition

In 2023, the Armed Forces Russia received 250 aircraft and helicopters, 57 surface ships, 617 thousand units of weapons and equipment. 7,200 anti-aircraft guided missiles for air defense systems and more than 20 million ammunition were also delivered. Such data are given in the materials Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation based on the results of work for 2023. More. here

Russia withdrew from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe

The procedure for withdrawing Russia from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in (To Europe CFE) was completed at midnight on November 7, 2023, the document ceased to exist for Moscow the Russian Foreign Ministry.

No agreements with NATO states in the field of arms control are currently impossible.

The Russian army is perceived in the world as the strongest

In the ranking of the strongest armies in the world, which leads the American magazine U.S. News & World Report, the first place in 2023 took the Russian Federation. The Russian army scored 94.3 points out of 100 in the "Power" category. At the same time, in the subcategories "Strong Army," "Leader" and "Political Influence," it was rated as high as possible.

The second strongest army was recognized as American - it received 95.7 points. The third place was taken by the Armed Forces of the PRC (94.9 points). The fourth and fifth places were given to the armies of Israel and South Korea. At the end of the ranking of armies were Estonia, Singapore and Luxembourg.

It is noted that Russia did not take first place in all the criteria that determine, according to the portal, the best country in the world. Thus, China was recognized as the strongest in terms of economic influence, as well as export.

About 17 thousand people around the world were interviewed to compile the rating. The rating was developed with the participation of WPP, a marketing and communication services company, and its own BAV brand analysis tool, as well as the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, in particular Professor David Reibstein. Experts assessed 73 indicators. Respondents assessed how much certain attributes they associate with a particular nation. The power of the armies of individual countries was assessed based on the answers of the respondents. This quality was taken into account when compiling the overall ranking of "Best Countries According to U.S. News" in the subcategory "Power."

Earlier, National Interest magazine put Russia in second place in the ranking of the strongest armies in the world. The leadership was then given to the United States, the third line was taken by China. The material noted the active development of the Russian fleet. Also, the experts of the publication said that the Russian army surpasses the American army in all categories of ground power, except for armored vehicles.^[2]

Russian MLRS "Tornado-G" received new guided ultra-long-range missiles

Innovative shells for the Russian multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) 9K51M Tornado-G began to enter service with the Russian army. This was reported on February 13, 2023 by Izvestia, citing sources in the Russian Defense Ministry. Read more here.

2022

The task of strengthening the preparation of command of interspecies groups

During the special operation of Russia in Ukraine, the task was to strengthen the training of the command of interspecies groups. The fact that these groups are led by combined arms commanders is normal, they regularly find themselves in similar posts in the United States, wrote the channel "Older than Edda." It is not normal when high-ranking commanders have only the most approximate idea of ​ ​ the capabilities of "other people's" types of armed forces, and as a result simply cannot fully use all available capabilities.

Correcting this situation requires a change in the approach to the additional education of officers who should be trained on interspecies coordination at least from the battalion level, if not earlier, while for 2022 the bulk of information in this part is received by officers already at the Academy of the General Staff. With all due respect to the WAGSH as a structure, it must be understood that in the vast majority, already quite age-old commanders come to study there with the prevailing ideas about the profession and optimal forms of combat use. And it is quite difficult to change the views and schemes that have developed and supported by the service.

This leads to a lot of problems when junior and middle-level officers (company-battalion) are not ready in their education to normally coordinate their activities with the Air Force, which sharply reduces the quality of air support, and even more so with the fleet, where the army operates in coastal areas. In the positive direction, this part is distinguished by Marine Corps officers, who have an initially different approach to coordination. And the exchange of experience between the Marines and the ground forces would be very useful for us.

The United States solved this problem in the 1980s, after the failure of Operation Eagle Claw in Iran, the failure of which was primarily due to coordination problems. The decision turned out to be positive - in Iraq in 1991 and beyond, the States showed a growing level of governance, although not without flaws. For 2022, the standard level of education of the highest command staff in the United States allows in most cases both the army general to entrust the operation with the active use of the fleet forces, and the admiral to entrust the command to the theater, where the main conflicts are expected on land.

Introduction to the use of new high-tech equipment for the military

In early October 2022, it became known about the name of the new equipment for the Russian military. It will replace the "Warrior" and "Centurion" sets. Read more here.

Cash payments to participants in the special operation in Ukraine

In September 2022, the Rybar telegram channel collected information from open sources, talked with colleagues serving in the SVO zone, and made simple and understandable infographics about monetary allowances and social guarantees for military personnel and their families in case of injury and death.

• No one will receive less than 175 thousand rubles a month.

• Shot down a plane? 300 thousand from above.

• Did the platoon advance 1 km2 deep into the enemy territories? Each soldier who took part will receive from 50 thousand rubles from above.

This is not a complete list of all payments - there are also regional allowances. But on average, this is how much servicemen of various positions and ranks receive.

Battle of Mariupol

Main article: Mariupol

Lieutenant General Sanchik conducts a tank operation to cover Kyiv

Lieutenant General Sanchik was one of the first to be on the sanctions lists of the United States and their satellites for giving the entire top military-political leadership of Ukraine a week of horror, filled with sleepless nights: in three days from February 24 to 27, 2022, his tankers covered a distance of over 120 km and covered Kyiv in ticks from the west.

Sanchik's actions were nothing more than a classic blitzkrieg: the tank groups of the 35th Army immediately rounded Chernobyl and made a march to Ivankov on February 24 to get out of there on the Borodyanka-Kalinovka line and cut off the Ye40 route connecting Kyiv with Zhytomyr.

At the same time, by the evening, unkind news began to come to the headquarters of the group: the Russian landing forces landed in Gostomel began to surround. The MTR groups were already rushing to the aid of the paratroopers along the roads, but at the same time, the 4th enemy brON had already ironed the airport from artillery of all calibers, and Ukrainian tanks were going to the airfield. Having rebuilt into echeloned orders, the combined forces of the 35th Army advanced to Gostomel and entered into heavy battles there, holding the airport and subsequently squeezing the enemy to Irpeni.

The merit of the commander is that he was oriented in time and realized that the war was going on for real and no one would play giveaways. Perhaps therefore, Sanchik and Nosulev are the only army commanders in the Air Defense Forces, who were not only not removed from their posts, but also raised to the level of the district's castles.

The forces of the 35th Army at the time of March 1 fully fulfilled the task: the high pace of the offensive in the North-West, when the group slipped on the eastern flank, allowed the Russian Army to achieve major operational success: gunner-operators of combat vehicles had already seen the outskirts of the city in optics, but then the events went in a completely different scenario and by the end of March it was decided to leave near Kyiv.

2020

Start of mass vaccination against COVID-19

On November 27, 2020, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced the start of mass vaccination against the coronavirus COVID-19 in the Russian army. Servicemen are injected with the drug "Sputnik V." Read more here.

Putin forbade the military to disclose service data on the Internet

On May 6, 2020, the president Russia Vladimir Putin signed a decree that prohibits the military from indicating information about their service on the Internet and the media. The corresponding document made additions to the disciplinary charter of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and was published on the official portal of legal information.

The ban includes information with which you can determine the belonging to the troops, data on other servicemen, including those already dismissed, their relatives and whereabouts at a certain period. In addition, the military cannot share information about the activities of military command and control bodies, including deployment or redeployment.^[3]

Russian servicemen were banned from using phones and other gadgets on the territory of military units, during campaigns, during military training camps. Electronics cannot be used during hostilities, peacekeeping or anti-terrorist missions outside the country.

Violation of the ban on the transfer of information about the service or on the use of electronic devices will be considered as a gross disciplinary offense, follows from the decree.

These amendments to the disciplinary charter, prohibiting the military from writing about their service in social networks and communicating with the press, legitimize the existing norm, military expert Viktor Murakhovsky commented to RIA Novosti.

The question is that for a number of internal directives and orders of the Minister of Defense, legislative consolidation is required, if only for the reason that military personnel who violate these orders must bear administrative or other responsibility. Until now, to impose such responsibility for failure to comply with the order on the military, who, for example, posted some information about himself on the social network, was not promising, he said.[4]

2019

Russian army introduces artificial intelligence and Big Data for hostilities

On November 13, it became known that the Russian army was introducing artificial intelligence and Big Data for hostilities.

As Izvestia writes with reference to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, new IT solutions will offer possible scenarios for responding to situations in battle. The proposed scenarios are ranked, starting with the most potentially successful.

The system takes into account the number of personnel and weapons, available information about the enemy, the weather, the morale of the fighters, ammunition stocks and other data in order to assess the situation and offer people several options for action, taking into account the available introductory.

Also, artificial intelligence will allow you to assess the likelihood of occupying regions and borders, and using Big Data, the military can receive an unlimited amount of data: video, text and graphic information. Such data will be transmitted from the military, equipment, as well as drones.

Thus, as noted in the department, new technologies will help solve "information and communication tasks." Their application is possible at all levels, up to strategic.

It is noted that the need to develop such equipment exists, since in the conditions of battle the commander must make quick decisions without prejudice to his troops.

In the military sphere, artificial intelligence and Big Data technologies can be used with great efficiency, thereby saving the lives of hundreds of servicemen, one of the experts told Izvestia.

Previously, data was collected and analyzed almost manually: the chiefs of staff and operator officers received information from subordinate units and summarized it, "says Viktor Murakhovsky, editor-in-chief of Arsenal of the Fatherland magazine. - The new algorithm is capable of providing all types of combat, including conducting combined arms operations using various types of troops and types of weapons.[5]

Equating the use of smartphones with hazing

In mid-July 2019, it became known that the use of a smartphone in the Russian army would be punished in the same way as for hazing. This is evidenced by the draft presidential decree on amendments to the disciplinary charter of the Armed Forces published on the federal portal of draft regulatory legal acts. The document was developed by the Ministry of Defense.

The agency expands the list of gross disciplinary misconduct of military personnel. It included the following:

• the use of "consumer electronic products" that allow you to use the Internet, take photos, record video or audio, as well as use geolocation;

• dissemination in the media or on the Internet of information that allows you to determine the belonging of the military and Russians called for military training to the Armed Forces or other troops;

• dissemination in the media or on the Internet of information that allows "other persons" to establish the location of military personnel (as well as those dismissed from service), their family members "at a certain period";

• dissemination in the media or the Internet of information about participation in hostilities, in peacekeeping operations or in counter-terrorism operations outside Russia.

Earlier, the gross disciplinary misconduct of the military included violation of the rules of statutory relations (hazing), unauthorized abandonment of a military unit or duty station, destruction or damage by negligence of military property, violation of the rules for handling weapons and radioactive materials , and others.

RBC recalls that military personnel were banned from using smartphones and posting information on the media and the Internet earlier, but now the Ministry of Defense proposes to consider this a gross disciplinary offense.^[6]

1999

1995

1989: Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan

1987

1981: Tank exercises "West"

1978

1970

1957: Visit of Marshal of the USSR G. Zhukov to India

1955: Creation of the Warsaw Pact Organization

On May 14, 1955, as a symmetrical response to the creation of NATO, the Warsaw Pact Organization was created led by the USSR - this powerful structure provided a counterweight to NATO for 36 years.

The treaty was signed by the USSR, Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, the GDR, Poland, Romania and Czechoslovakia.

1954

1950

1947

1941: World War II

Main article: World War II

1940

1935

"It is known that we have five Marshals of the Soviet Union. Of these, Egorov deserved this title least of all, I'm not talking about Tukhachevsky... Egorov - a native of the officer family, in the past a colonel - he came to us from another camp and relatively to the listed comrades had less right to be awarded the title of marshal, nevertheless, for his services in the civil war we assigned this title... " (from Stalin's speech from 22.01.1938)

1927

1925

1914: Entry into World War I

• World War I

1910

1905

1900: Storming Beijing under Nikolai Linevich to quell boxer rebellion

On August 13, 1900, the troops of the Alliance of Eight Powers, under the command of Russian Lieutenant General Nikolai Linevich, approached Beijing, scattering detachments of rebel boxers. On August 14, Linevich's corps stormed Beijing, and the Russian column was the first to enter the city, suffering losses of 140 people. The Trans-Baikal Cossacks, as well as American marines, were especially distinguished. The unexpected assault on Beijing made a sensation in Europe, Linevich immediately gained world fame as an energetic and bold general.

1769: Catherine II established the Order of St. George

In 1769, Catherine II established the Imperial Military Order of the Holy Great Martyr and Victorious George of four degrees and, in honor of the establishment of a new award, entrusted herself with the badge of the Order of the 1st degree.

1708: Victory of Peter I at Lesnaya over the Swedish corps

On October 9 (September 28), 1708, Peter I defeated the Swedes, which he called the "first soldier's breakdown" and the "mother of the Battle of Poltava" - the main battle of the Northern War (1700-1721). At the end of September, near the village of Lesnaya (now the Mogilev region of Belarus), the 12,000th detachment of Peter I (corvolant) defeated the 16,000th Swedish corps of General Adam Levengaupt, which was moving to join the main army of the Swedish king Charles XII.

Russian troops attacked several times, moving from firing to hand-to-hand combat, eventually forcing the Swedes to abandon the camp and retreat. A detachment was sent to the enemy under the command of Lieutenant General Gebhard Flug. Flug caught up with the remnants of Levengaupt's troops at Propoisk, where he finally defeated the enemy forces.

The Swedish troops were forced to abandon a huge convoy with a supply of food for three months, artillery and ammunition, which greatly weakened the position of the army of Charles XII.

1550: Ivan IV creates streltsy regiments - the first permanent army in Russia

On October 1, 1550, Tsar Ivan IV, by his decree, created the Streltsy regiments - the first permanent army in Russia.

See also

• Russia
• Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (Ministry of Defense)
• History of Russia
• Russian economy

Notes